great lengths to plan and execute this attack to get all the component pieces, to put it together successfully and plant it and to have it go off, we have to presume, and i'm sure the fbi does, that they had an escape plan. >> the top of the hour. i just want to reset for our viewers here in the united states and around the world who might just be tuning in, i'm wolf blitzer. we're watching this dramatic situation here in "the situation room," breaking news this hour. here are the headlines. the fbi has just released photos and video of two suspects in the boston marathon terror attack. the attack that killed three people, injured more than 170 people. authorities are asking the public to help them find these two men. they were seen at the marathon on monday. we have team coverage. our correspondents are standing by in boston to help us pore over these images. jake tapper, deb feyerick, drew griffin, there with our security analysts here in "the situation room." they're giving us unique insight

into this break-through in the case. it is a major break-through in what happens next. let's listen in to the fbi's announcement less than an hour or so ago. this is the fbi agent in charge, richard delaureis. >> good afternoon. i am the special agent in charge of the fbi's boston division. since monday's bombing, we've been working around the clock and committed to investigating the matter, this matter to bring those responsible to justice. our collective law enforcement team has pursued thousands of leads and tips. as i said two days ago, we're working methodically and with a sense of urgency to identify those responsible for the bombings. within the last day or so, through the careful process, we initially developed a single person of interest. not knowing that the individual was acting alone or in concert with others, we obviously worked with extreme purpose to make

that determination. the entire force of the federal government, the fbi in boston, around the world, as well as our partners in the boston police, atf, massachusetts state police, and more than 30 agencies of the boston joint terrorism task force ensured that all responsible for the bombings will be brought to justice. more importantly, it was done to ensure the future safety of the city of boston, the commonwealth of massachusetts, and the country. indeed, through that process, the fbi developed a second suspect. today we are enlisting the public's help to identify the two suspects. after a very detailed analysis, a photo, video and other evidence, we are releasing photos of these two suspects. they are identified as suspect one and suspect two. they appear to be associated. suspect one is wearing a dark hat. suspect two is wearing a white hat. suspect two set down a backpack at the site of the second explosion, just in front of the

forum restaurant. we strongly encourage those who were at the forum restaurant who have not contacted us yet to do so. as you can see from one of the images, suspects one and two appear to be walking together through the marathon crowd, on boylston street in the direction of the finish line. that image was captured as they walked on boylston in the vicinity of the intersection with gloucester street. the quality of the photos is quite good. but we will continue to work on developing additional images to improve their identification value. further, on fbi.gov, we have photos of the suspects. the photos and videos are posted for the public and media to use, review and publicize. for clarity, these images should be the only ones, i emphasize, the only ones that the public should view to assist us. other photos should not be deemed credible and they are

necessarily will divert the public's attention in the wrong direction for vital law enforcement resources. for more than 100 years, the fbi has relied upon the public to be its eyes and ears. with the media's help, in an instant these images will be delivered directly into the hands of millions around the world. the public will play a critical role in identifying these individuals. somebody out there knows these individuals, as friends, neighbors, co-workers, or family members of the suspects. though it may be difficult, the nation is counting on those with information to come forward and provide it to us. no bit of information, no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential, is too small for us to see. each piece moves us forward towards justice. it is extremely important to contact us with any information regarding the identities of suspect one, suspect two, and their location. we consider them to be armed and

extremely dangerous. no one should approach them. no one should attempt to apprehend them except law enforcement. let me reiterate that caution. do not take any action on your own. if you see these men, contact law enforcement. if you know anything about the bombings or the men pictured here, please call the telephone listed on the photo arrays, that's 1-800-call-fbi. all calls will be kept confidential. we have also established a website for tips that directly relates to the bombing. please contact us at boston marathon tips.fbi.gov. again, that website is boston marathon tips.fbi.gov. the photos can be viewed on our website fbi.gov. it is important to emphasize the images from monday are indelible

and the horror of that day will remain with us forever. this further underscores our obligation to investigate this crime judiciously in order to bring those responsible to justice. the victims and survivors deserve nothing less. as to monday's victims, the fbi's committed to ensuring victims receive the rights they are entitled to and the assistance they need to cope with the crimes. treating victims with respect and providing them with assistance, benefits, and help, and assistance will better our cases. our resources include an office of victim assistance at fbi headquarters, and victim specialists nationwide. these highly trained professionals can assist victims and coordinate with other agencies to provide victims with the support, information and resources necessary to effectively meet their needs. our victim specialist team continues to work around the clock to bring assistance to the victims of this heinous act. identifying and locating those

responsible is now our highest priority. no other details of the investigation will be released at this time, because this is our focus now. it continues to be an ongoing, active investigation. review these photographs and contact us at 1-800-call fbi. or www.bostonmarathontips.gov fbi.gov immediately. >> richard deslauriers, appealing to the american public, appealing to people all over the world to help identify these two suspects described as suspect number one, wearing the black cap, suspect number two wearing the white cap. and he offered this specific information. if you have any information, how to make it available to the fbi, go to their website at the boston marathon tips@fbi.gov. or call 1-800-call-fbi.

jake tapper is on the scene for us in boston. it's pretty chilling when you think about it, jake, that perhaps two killers are very much on the loose, on the run right now. >> that's exactly right. the fbi also requested the help of not only anybody who recognized these individuals, but anybody who was eating at a restaurant nearby, nearby boylston street, the forum restaurant, saying if you were eating there, because that's close to the site of the second bombing, also close to where the surveillance video shown in this presentation is from. we actually spoke with somebody who had been eating there at the forum restaurant. and he told us he did not recognize either of those individuals, although he wished he did, because he wants justice for the victims of this horrible attack. one other note, wolf, when it comes to the fbi, enlisting the help of the public, of course, this is not new. they have their famous most wanted list that has been around since 1950. in that time, according to the fbi's own statistics, they have

caught almost 500 of the fugitives on that list. and about 130 of those individuals were found thanks to the assistance of the public, presumably some of them through finding out about these wanted individuals through the most wanted list. so it's not as if it doesn't happen and cannot work, it does, and it can. wolf? >> okay, jake. deborah feyerick is on the ground in boston as well. i assume everyone in the boston area, indeed in massachusetts, probably around the country, they're going to be studying these two faces very, very closely. very carefully, deb, right now. >> not only the faces, for example, also the hats. there are details on the hats that may identify where they were purchased, or even if they were part of some event. people think the hat is part of a tournament. investigators are going to be looking at that, trying to refine the image and trying to get some sort of a high-quality image so they can perhaps locate the individual. it's not just rt faces, one of

the reasons obviously letting that out, they're trying to pinpoint what area of the country they may have come from. why they ended up in boston. were they from massachusetts, for example. do those hats yield any clues. we've been told that in fact investigators are going to hobby shops, because one of the batteries that was used in the device, for example, that's the kind of battery that's used in sort of remote-controlled cars. it's a unique sort of battery. we're told investigators are tracking that down. so now they've got the pieces, what they're able to do is they're really able to span out and get information piece by piece on all of the different elements. the zipper that was on the backpack, for example. the backpack itself. so again, it's not just the faces, it's also the hats. somebody may recognize that black hat, the signature on it and say, oh, my goodness, i have the same one. i was at a certain event. all of that, all details, wolf. >> they're looking at every little detail of these videos and these still photos.

drew griffin, you were inside that news conference. the fbi agent in charge. my suspicion is, drew, i wonder if you agree, that they -- the authorities, the fbi, they clearly know more than they're sharing with the public right now. but they don't want to do anything that's going to undermine the investigation. >> absolutely. it's quite apparent how instructive rick deslaureis was the second time around. he was telling us, look, ignore everything else you've heard, every other picture you've seen. focus on these two pictures. this video. this is what we want you to identify. he is not describing them by race, ethnicity, height, weight. he just wants the american public to view these pictures, and find these suspects. i thought that was very telling, trying to purify the tips maybe, but also to focus people on the tips. and one thing i wa nt to add to

what tom fuentes said. that not only will you recognize these people, because now they have twice as many circles of family members or friends, but it also exponentially increases the chance that you would recognize them because there are two. not that, oh, i know that guy, or i know that guy, but i've seen these two guys together. that could be a potential tip that would lead maybe to their identity. but very instructive from rick, focus on these pictures, and help us find them. >> i wouldn't be surprised if the fbi is getting dozens and dozens if not hundreds or thousands of tips right now from citizens in the united states, perhaps around the world. everyone stand by. we have a special guest. someone who feels closely to what's going on in boston. the former massachusetts governor, the former presidential candidate, mitt romney is joining us from boston right now. governor, this must be such an emotional moment for you, when you see these pictures, these videos of these two suspects

identified as suspect number one, suspect number two, you spent four years as governor of the commonwealth of massachusetts. you lived in boston obviously. what goes through your mind? >> well, of course, what's going through my mind over the last few days is the tragedy that occurred here. and the inspiration from the people that rushed to the aid of those that had been injured. i'm also proud of our law enforcement community. the fact that they've been able to single out so quickly people of this nature, that appear to be, well, serious suspects. it's encouraging to see the kind of movement you've seen, and to see the resilience and the resolve of the people of boston, and massachusetts. frankly, the whole country. i mean, boston is very much america. and i've been encouraged, and delighted by the kind of response i've seen from this community, and from people across the kun there. >> when i was in boston over the

past few days, i was so impressed by how people got together. they just want to find these suspects. they didn't know if there was one or two or more. but everyone in boston, in the area, everyone i spoke to was just so outraged by what happened. and i assume you and your family, as bostonians, residents of massachusetts, you just want to find these killers, and bring them to justice. >> no question about that. we begin the first days with trying to understand how this can possibly happen. and we mourn. and we grieve for those who are so badly injured and those who have lost their lives. but we also say, who has done this? and now it appears we're zeroing in on serious suspects. and then, of course, we'll ask why? why would people be so demeanted, that they would do something so horrible?

it's hard to fathom. yet the cry for justice, and for setting things right and doing our very best to learn from this experience so we don't have any more experiences like this in this state, around this country or in the world. >> you were at the interfaith service today at the cathedral in boston. the president spoke. we had religious leaders speaking. how important was it for you personally as the former governor of massachusetts to be there? >> well, i was honored with the other former governors to be able to be at that service, along with thousands of other people who gathered to show their respect for the religious community, for the civic community, and of course, for the many people who had been so badly injured, psychologically and physically from this tragedy. it was a coming together. i must admit i was also very impressed with the words of the mayor, mayor menino, with our governor, governor deval

patrick, and the president. i think the president gave a superb address to the people of this city and this state and the nation. it was an inspiring day. the members of the religious leadership in our community also stood and spoke one by one. and it was a coming together. look, this is a city and a nation which has proved time and again that when we face real challenges, instead of pointing fingers and getting angry, and running, we come together. united we stand. we've proven it time and again, and we saw it in that cathedral today. >> i know you're a religious person, governor. all the biographies i've read of you, you've comforted members of your own church, you've gone through horrible situations. i'm reminded of that book, when bad things happen to good people by rabbi harold curbner, a best seller, it's hard to understand how an 8-year-old little boy could be killed so brutally at the end of the boston marathon, or an exchange student from

china, 23 years old, who was at boston university, a graduate student, or a 28-year-old woman who just happened to be standing there. how do you explain that? when you go out and comfort people, and they ask you that question, when bad things happen to good people, what do you say? >> well, you listen mostly, because people who are hurting so badly want to express to you what they feel, what they're going through. and you show your sympathy and love for them. as they look for answers, the only answer i know for questions of that nature is to get on one's own knees and to pray for understanding and for comfort. i believe very deeply that we have a creator, and that he loves us and cares for us. but when he actually intervenes in the affairs of the people on this earth, it's something which happens only rarely. and when that happens, and why that happens, and who it happens to is something we don't understand. there's so much tragedy that goes on throughout the world.

starvation, disease and death and mayhem. we don't understand it. but one thing i know is that we have a god who loves us, who cares for us, who will comfort us in times of need. and he provides that comfort oftentimes by the people around us. and i'm proud of the community here in boston. the many people who have shown their love and respect for those that have been injured. i was in the hospital today, and saw a young man there who was badly injured, and saw the spirit of his family and others who have come to his aid. look, this is a time when your faith in god is enhanced by seeing the goodness of the men and women he's created. >> my own dad used to always say to me, god works in mysterious ways. we're only human beings, we can't really comprehend what god really wants. and we just have to accept that kind of a situation. even a horrible situation like this one. did you have a chance at the cathedral of the holy cross today, at the interfaith service, governor, to speak with

some of the families who have suffered so terribly? >> you know, i had the chance to speak with a number of people today at the hospital, and on the streets. they feel blessed that they have been able to escape with life, and in some cases with injury that is not going to impair their life going forward. and people are obviously hurting. and are concerned about their future. but at the same time, they feel confidence in the kind of support they've received from their friends and from others in the community. and they recognize that this is a nation that will come together at this critical time, and that we will do what we have to do to prevent events like this from occurring to stepts humanly possible. we will learn from this. i had the privilege, as you know, some years ago to help organize the winter olympic games of 2002. that was the national special security event. we wondered if we could protect all of the people in all of the places. we learned lessons from that

experience. one of those lessons was that intelligence, finding the bad guys before they do bad things is so critical to our safety. we'll learn from this experience. and i'm sure that the many families and victims want to make sure that justice is served, but also that the future will be brighter and more prosperous for those who otherwise might be hurt as we learn from these experiences, and do our best to prevent them from occurring. >> i sense, governor, there should be some sort of commission, some sort of panel, either in massachusetts, or national, to learn the lessons of what happened, so that we won't have to endure this kind of pain down the road. and i wonder, as someone who's been a leader in massachusetts, who helped organize the winter olympic games, would you be interested in participating in such a commission, a national commission to help us better look back, study what happened in boston, at the boston marathon, learn the lessons and try to make sure that families don't have to suffer as they are right now?

>> well, i'm sure that i, like other people in our country, would always respond to the call of the nation, in helping prevent violence, and distress of the kind we've seen here. i happen to have served for several years on the national security -- homeland security, rather, advisory council. it's in some respects almost a commission of that nature. which is comprised of governors, mayors, tribe al leaders, and others who have experience in the area of homeland security. and we came together to talk about how events of this nature could be learning experiences for us. how we could prevent the kind of destruction which has occurred here and loss of life that's occurred here. and my guess is, you're going to find the homeland security advisory council and others coming together to learn as much as they can from this. but whether it's a new commission as well, i don't know. but i do know that this is a learning opportunity that we should learn the lessons that come from this and apply them to

the extent we possibly can. but in my heart of hearts, what i understand is, it is intelligence work, and by intelligence, it's not just meaning that the cia and the fbi and wiretaps, it is also people who are watching what's going on, reporting what's going on, combining that information such that we can prevent the worst things from occurring. >> and if people have information about these two suspects, they have to notify law enforcement immediately. don't get directly involved. these are armed and dangerous individuals, according to the fbi. governor, did you have a chance to speak with the president today at that interfaith service? >> no, i did not. he was off to visit victims of the tragedy at massachusetts general hospital. but i was honored to be there in the presence of many people of our state, and hear their remarks to the president. of course, the mayor and the governor. and also, to hear from religious leaders. it was a great occasion. at the end we sang "america the beautiful." it was a hearty rendition,

almost as hearty as listening to the fans at the bruins game last night, who erupted in singing the national anthem. we've come together in this community. we've come together in ways that other places in america, in other places of the world have come together at times of tragedy. this is a great city. it's a great state, great nation. and the people have come together in a way that's been inspiring to me. >> certainly true. words well spoken. governor romney, thanks very much for joining us on this occasion. hopefully all of us will learn from what happened so we don't have to endure this again. governor mitt romney, thank you, appreciate it very much. >> thank you, wolf. we're going to go back to the analysis of the photos of the video that the fbi has now released, dramatic video, two suspects identified as suspect number one, wearing a black cap, suspect number two, wearing a white cap. we'll take a quick break. we'll resume the analysis, full

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we're following the breaking news, the fbi has now released pictures, still photos, as well as video of two suspects identified by the fbi as individuals who took the backpacks that they have, and they believe they had bombs in those backpacks, dropped them off on the sidewalk near the end

of the boston marathon. those bombs exploded, killing three people, injuring nearly 200 others. richard desleauris making that announcement just a little while ago. once again, we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. our national security analysts are here, fran townsend, and former fbi assistant director tom fuentes, also hln law enforcement analyst mike brooks. fran, let's go through the pictures. we were talking about suspect number two, wearing the white cap. there are eight still photos, i want to put up on the screen, so viewers in the united states and around the world can get a better look at this individual. you see, fran, the baseball cap backwards on his head. you see his outfit there. he could pass for anyone almost, boston, a lot of college students, he's walking around at the end of the boston marathon, pretty casually. >> he is, wolf. you used a word earlier to

describe him as cocky. and let's focus on that for a second. because i think you're absolutely right. you don't get cocky and confident with a bomb in your backpack unless you've thought about this, unless you've planned it. and the likelihood is, these guys did sort of what we call operational surveillance. they did dry runs before. so when the fbi special agent in charge says they're especially interested in those who were inside the restaurant, the forum restaurant, outside of which they put the one bomb down, you bet those guys were in that neighborhood, in that area. they walked it before. so when you look at the video, they don't seem to wonder where they're going. they planned that, wolf. they were familiar with the area and they knew exactly, precisely where they planned to put them down. >> tom fuentes, you're walking around with a bomb in your backpack, in a pressure cooker, that's pretty dangerous when you think about it. it could go off. a lot of experts have said to me, they probably had to put

that bomb together in an area not far away, so they wouldn't have to travel very far with an explosive device like that. >> i think they wouldn't want to travel far because they might be seen going through a train station, and obviously they couldn't go through an airport. actually, the type of bomb that's constructed here, once it's in that container, and hasn't gone off while you're cramming it into the container, but once it's sealed in the container, it's pretty secure. you could drop the container and it's not going to go off. it's going to take the sparking either created by some detonation mechanism. they're confident it's not going to blow up it looks like, and pretty confident they're not going to be caught. >> they clearly like they think they know what they're doing. mike brooks, these are both suspects. i want to be precise, the term used by the fbi agent in charge, suspects. what does that say to you? not a person of interest or persons of interest.

described as suspects. they obviously haven't been convicted of anything. but they're suspects. >> no, wolf, i don't like the term person of interest. i call that suspect, either you're a suspect or you're not. these two are suspects. we heard the special agent in charge say that these are the only two people, the fbi are looking at, trying to identify right now. i want our viewers, take a look at the caps on both of these. take a look at the backpacks. do you recognize this? i think they've done a good job of enhancing the video, wolf. you can see on suspect number two, he's the one apparently that they believe actually placed the backpack right there in front of the forum restaurant, which is on street. this is the guy right here. it looks like he was talking on the cell phone to someone. these are things they're taking a look at right now. they're taking a look at cell phones. there's so many things that they are looking at right now at the command post for the bombings there in boston, wolf.

but i tell you, this is a significant, significant lead by putting this out to the public. >> and they must have gone through -- you heard the fbi agent in charge, mike, say they went through thousands and thousands of hours of video. they must have a ton of people going through video from closed-circuit cameras all over downtown boston. >> oh, absolutely. tom will tell you, and i was on the fbi joint terrorism task force at washington for six years, the agents are doing a canvases of every single business, every single home along that way who may have some kind of surveillance video, who may have some kind of cameras pointing out to boylston street. this was probably the most photographed street on monday, when this happened, because it was the finish line of the boston marathon. tom and i have talked about the centennial olympic park bombing that happened across from the cnn center here in 1996.

but back then, we didn't have the technology that's out there in everyone's hand today. and i think that's why the fbi was asking for the public's help, hey, if you have something, even if you think it's not important, let us know. and it sounds like the public has come through. >> and tom fuentes, we were told by the fbi agent in charge, that suspect number two, the individual with the white cap, was seen planting the bag. so i assume that means they have video of him planting that bag. >> right. they're not revealing every inch of the video. >> why wouldn't they reveal that do you think? >> there might be something unique about the placement that only that person would know, and they don't want to reveal that. they may have other people that, you know, might claim credit for this, or something, and they keep -- they withhold some of the information just to not have too much out there that everybody knows every detail of the potential prosecution. they want to limit that, and would hold that back. >> on a need-to-know basis. they want to give the american

public these images, so they can get some tips. >> that's right. wolf, they only put out what they needed for the purpose that they've asked. they've asked for help in identification, and they've put just those pictures and photographs that will aid the public so they can provide information to them. they've got a lot of other stuff, but they don't need to share that to help get the identity of these guys. >> drew griffin is in boston, he was inside the news conference where we heard the fbi agent in charge release all of this dramatic information. in the nearly hour and a half since then, drew, have you seen in i change in what's going on in boston? are people coming over to you, are they getting involved, do they want to help? >> everybody's looking at these pictures, whether it be on their ipads or iphones or wherever. they're even some of them gathering around news trucks looking at them. in this hour and a half, i can keep thinking, wolf, of more and more questions of what we can glean by what we saw. in your discussion about them walking calmly, placing the

bags, you know, these were not suicide bombers. whatever stupid cause they have, they were not willing to die for it. i think it's also telling that this was well planned. which means they must have known they were going to be captured on surveillance video. especially as they were walking to the most photographed section of the marathon. and it also strikes me that there must be an after-plan. obviously all these questions won't get answered in will after they are caught. but right now that's what's going through my head, the unanswered questions that the fbi didn't hang around and tell us about, because obviously they just want us to find these guys. >> yeah, tom fuentes, it seems to me that, what, monday, tuesday, wednesday, now thursday, three days later, these two guys, these suspects, they've had plenty of time to get out. and i wonder if the fbi and other law enforcement would be looking at video at airports to see if they can make a match, someone getting on a plane, flying someplace, to see if

maybe they already escaped. >> that's true. they would be looking at that. but don't forget in the prior terrorist incidents that we've had here, ramseyious ef, the guy at cia headquarters killing employees as they came to work that morning, these are guys that fled the country. and the fbi and intelligence agencies worked together, tracked them down overseas, brought them back and put them in courtrooms here and convicted them. they're in prison in the u.s. now. the fact that these guys may have gotten on a plane, gone somewhere else -- >> even overseas. >> -- even overseas, the fbi with the 76 offices and the other agencies, the cia, our law enforcement partners throughout the world, it's a small world also. the technology, as i just mentioned, my son was just watching this in geneva, switzerland, as we speak. this is all over the world right now. if they got on a plane, people may know them overseas. they may be from a small town. who knows what. but the world isn't big enough for these two guys to go off and hide. >> it's been three days, fran, as you well know, usually, i don't know if there's a usual in

a situation like this, is there a usual period of time after dramatic pictures like this that are released that you wind up apprehending the suspects? >> none of these are usual, wolf. >> it could take weeks, months or years? >> or it could take days. ricking walked off the podium and they got the right tip, it could be quickly. i think more likely it will take time. that's why they've asked for assistance. when you talk about looking at videotape at airports, and i think that's absolutely right, drew griffin rightly points out that the suspect number two, according to the fbi, walked west on boylston. you can be absolutely certain, the first thing they did, as he walks west on boylston, where are the metro tube stations, and they'll pull the videos from the surrounding ones from that station first. after all, the guy's got to get to an airport. be sure they take these to cab drivers, taxi drivers, bus

drivers, to see how did they get away. >> mike brooks, i think it's important to underscore what the fbi agent in charge said. if you think you see one or two of these suspects, call local police, law enforcement, don't try to apprehend them yourself, because they are armed and dangerous. i want to underscore that. and i want you to elaborate. >> you're absolutely right. call 911, call 800, call the fbi. you do not want to approach these people. i want to point out, if you call these numbers, you can remain anonymous. the fbi will follow up on your call. i guarantee it. but you do not want to approach them at all. and i'm also thinking that they're probably going to the different businesses, wolf, and they're going back a number of days, even before the race happened, to see if they recognize anyone that looks like these two, that may have been down there, planning the route, planning on what they were going

to do. and it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when they catch these two. >> i just got a statement in from governor deval patrick from massachusetts on the release of the fbi photos, videos. let me read the statement from governor deval patrick. i have been briefed on the status of the investigation and appreciate the progress the fbi and their partner lawsuit agencies are making. i join their call to the general public to look at the official photos, and videotape, on fbi.gov, and pass along to law enforcement any information about the suspects that you may have. so this is all pretty encouraging information right now. dramatic break-through, i think it's fair to say, tom fuentes, but they still have a long way to go. >> it was mentioned earlier, as the investigation in the infancy or not. i can tell you if the two subjects were arrested right this minute, the case would still be in its infancy. you look at mcveigh in the oklahoma city bombing, he was in

custody within hours of that event, yet that investigation went on. and the fbi covered more than 1 million leads worldwide in that case. i guarantee you that it was very much in the infancy in the first 48 hours. >> stand by for a moment. we're going to continue the breaking in us coverage. we're watching what's going on. the authorities in boston releasing the images of two suspects, key word, suspects in the boston terror attack. much more on this coming up. we're also getting the first daylight video coming in from texas where they had that huge explosion at a fertilizer plant not far from waco, texas, in the small town of west, texas. our own brian todd is on the scene. we'll have the latest on that as well. oh, he's a fighter alright.

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if you're just joining us here in the united states, and around the world, we're following the breaking news in "the situation room." the fbi has released video and photos of the two suspects in the boston marathon terror attack. the fbi is asking help to find the two men seen at the site of the bombings. >> today we're enlisting the public's help to identify the two suspects. after a very detailed analysis, a photo, video and other evidence, we are releasing photos of these two suspects. they are identified as suspect one, and suspect two. they appear to be associated. suspect one is wearing a dark hat. suspect two is wearing a white hat. suspect two set down a backpack at the site of the second explosion, just in front of the forum restaurant. we strongly encourage those who were at the forum restaurant who have not contacted us yet, to do so.

as you can see from one of the images, suspects one and two appear to be walking together through the marathon crowd on boylston street in the direction of the finish line. that image was captured as they walked on boylston in the vicinity of the intersection with gloucester street. as you can see, the quality of the photos is quite good. but we will continue to work on developing additional images to improve their identification value. >> let's go to tom foreman right now. he's taking a closer look at these images, the video and still photos that the fbi has released. >> wolf, i've been listening to your conversation over here. this is the actual sequence of this video, with these fellows turning the corner here, and then it picks up in the middle sequence of these shots. you see them start working further along the way here. as you see that, you realize they're in the middle of that walk. you see the woman with the bright green bag down there, that's the middle of it. as they come up this way, it

joins into the last part of the sequence where you see them walking away from us. i've counted up here based on the sidewalk blocks, we're seeing about 50 feet or so of ground being covered. because there's some overlap in the various shots and where they're going. a couple of things we noticed, probably worth noting in all of this. for example, if you look down at the time stamp, all of this is taking place approximately 12 1/2 minutes before the first bomb blast went off. we don't know entirely what all of this means, or why it would mean the things we may fear in all this. about you look at this fellow up front here, this is the one that seems to be associated with the second bomb blast. as they turn up boylston street, this would be the correct sequence in the sense he is closer to the first blast. this person would be closer to the second one, if they kept that angle going as they walked up there. another thing, i want to stop it right here because this is worth noting. remember we had this evidence of things they've collected of actual things.

this backpack would appear to be generally black in color. if you move on, though, the second backpack is not that way. you can see the second one, the picture jitters a bit and we stop here, that's more of a white or gray color. so that's something that's worth noting. now, we all know from having backpacks around the house, it's fully possible that the inside of that might be lined with something black. we don't know that. in any event, this is the sequence that's happening. fran, you mentioned a moment ago the idea that they might be able to go to a "t" station, what the subway is called in boston. you only have to go about a fairly short walk, in all sorts of directions to get on various lines of the "t" here, probably ten of them easily are within easy walking distance. and they can carry out to boston college, or boston university, either one, or if you really want to hike a little bit across the river you can get on the lines that run toward harvard, so there really is a tremendous mass transit system in this town. there would be a lot of cameras that could be checked.

but there will be a lot of cameras, because there are a lot of places in which they could go, if in fact this was a public transit thing. another thing i wanted to point out in the direction here. we talked about what happened afterward. if this person, the second suspect, in fact was involved, and they say he headed the other way on boylston, look up here. these are the runners going this way. that would suggest he went this way, away from the second explosion. and i do want to point out one last item that's important here. right up here, even after the explosion, you may notice that this serves as something of a barrier. sort of hard to get the other side of the street even in the chaos afterward, because there was the running through here. that's where all the security people fled in. that's why it seems a lot of the people who were looking at it are focusing on this side of boylston street. wolf? >> good analysis. lots to digest there, tom foreman. thanks very much. we'll get back to the boston investigation in a moment. but i want to go right now to the other major story unfolding right now.

>> about 24 hours after that massive explosion, crews are still searching the ruins of a texas fertilizer desperately trying to find survivors. they confirm some people are dead. they don't know how many. the search and rescue operation continues. brian todd is over there in the small town of west, texas. what is the latest? >> wolf, officials are still combing through the mountains of rubble in the town of west. we have new aerials to show you of just the extent of the damage. it levelled much of the town. officials say they're combing through an apartment complex, a nursing home, the plant itself looking for survivors. i just spoke a short time ago to jeff saunders, a top search and rescue team in this area. he said his teams have combed

through 70 plus structures. they found no victims yet. he said the evacuation went very well. you mentioned some numbers. earlier today, officials were giving some casualty numbers. they're starting to stray away from those now. they said that earlier today 5 to 15 people have died, 160 injured. late today they were not giving hard numbers, wolf. they don't want to really give a lot of numbers yet. they're not sure. they still have a lot to go through. also, the presence of amonium nitrate in the air still complicating matters for the first responders. so some of the hazards from the plant still in the air as the responders come through this rubble. >> brian, we'll stay in close touch with you. thanks very much. an awful, awful scene there in west, texas. we'll take a quick break. whether we come back, a very emotional day in boston today. the president of the united states participating in that interfaith service. we'll have the latest on that. but a heartbreaking situation unfolding. also the latest on the investigation. zap technology.

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a day of healing in boston. the music and the emotions from the president. that's all i have.

the boston bombings put president obama in the most difficult position any president has to face, consoler in chief.

we take a closer look. >> reporter: circumstances and geography change but we have been here before. new york, tucson, nasa to aurora, virginia tech to sandy hook, oklahoma city and now to boston. >> i'm here today on behalf of the american people with a simple message -- every one of us has been touched by this attack on your beloved city. every one of us stands with you. >> reporter: there is a randomness to the violence that punk tours the soul of this country and a rhythm to its aftermath. the frenzy of rescue, the hailing heroes, the candles and the flowers, the burst of patriotism and attention of a president. called to duty to speak for and to the american people. this is how the nation grieves. >> you showed us, boston, that in the face of evil, americans will lift up what's good.

in the face of cruelty, we will choose compassion. in the face of those who would visit death upon innocence, we will choose to save and the comfort and the healing. >> at every level of president's tact is always both necessary and impossible. consoling the inconsolable families of those who died, offering hope to the wounded. >> we will all be with you as you learn to stand and walk and, yes, run again. of that i have no doubtment y. you will run again. [ applause ] you will run again. >> preacher, cheerleader, consoler. the president filled the church with cheerful, joyful and ruckus moment as he captured the many stages of grief, disbelief.

>> it was a beautiful day to be in boston. a day that explains why a poet once wrote that this town is not just a capital, not just a place. boston, he said, is the perfect state of grace. >> reporter: the defiance. >> that's when you reminded us to push on. to persevere, to not grow weary, do not get faint. even when it hurts, even when our heart aches, we summon the strength that maybe we didn't even know we had and we carry on. we finish the race. [ applause ] we finish the race. >> reporter: and the hope.

>> tomorrow the sun will rise over boston. tomorrow, the sun will rise over this country that we love. this special place, this state of grace. >> reporter: cnn, washington. >> what a heartbreaking situation. let's remember the three people who were killed, killed so brutally at the end of that boston marathon. krystle campbell, martin richard and linzi lu. three people dead by a killer who had no respect for human life. the fbi is hunting. if you know where they are, if you